The invention is directed to an integrated pintle hook and rear impact guard structure which is secured to the rear underside of a dry freight van trailer in a releasably securable manner.
It is known in the prior art to have dry freight van trailers which include pintle hooks and rear impact guards, however, these pintle hooks and rear impact guards are typically welded to the dry freight van trailers for installation. Welding of the pintle hooks and rear impact guards requires substantial assembly time, fabrication effort and fabrication cost and results in the pintle hooks and rear impact guards being permanently secured to the trailer. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a pintle hook and rear impact guard structure which is secured to the rear underside of a dry freight van trailer in a manner other than welding. The present invention provides such a pintle hook and rear impact guard structure as it is configured to be secured to the dry freight van trailer in a releasably securable manner such that assembly time, fabrication effort and fabrication costs may be substantially reduced.